Matt Demers - 02:02 EST

COUGH, HACK, SPUTTER! Welcome to your very first A&Q column! This is what your dedicated host will do in the face of adversity; I am aiming to construct a Q&A column without any of your letters!

Surely most of you have heard about rpgamer.com's Thanksgiving weekend explosion-of-sorts, and it has shut down all of the mail entirely, so for the first time in awhile, I'm not the only person whose e-mail address here is defunct. Unfortunately for you guys, that means that qna's inbox is also inaccessible, and this is why I bring you today's semi-exciting special-edition, where I'll give YOU some questions to ponder. Then, I think I'll ask myself some bothersome things to ponder and answer on the spot. Are you geared up and ready to go? Ah shore am!

*does a little softshoe*

This shall be interesting... let us begin.

Hey, me:

I always say that people who write in have a very good chance of having their letter answered "on air", so to speak. Why is it that some people write in, then, and their letters don't end up getting posted??

Matty

I honestly do my best, and I try hard to get six or seven letters up every day. However, sometimes, several people will submit letters that are very, very similar in subject. To make the section an interesting read, I'll usually pick one and leave the other, and the choice is usually an arbitrary one. I don't usually delete the other though, in case I'm short on letters sometime in the future. Spelling or grammar aren't usually issues for me, but it's a good idea to use proper english so that you don't look like a dumbass when I DO post your stuff! I'm sure as heeeeck not going to proofread everything you send me!!!

hey matt,

for those who are new like me i don't know what sock means and i might want to participaet but i'm not sure if i should because the questions are really hard and i want to cohost someday to but its not fair because everyone else has more points already

If people are worried about SOCK, don't be! It might be discouraging to see people with a 500 point headstart over you, but there are a few rules to keep in mind:

a) There will always be at least one Guest-Host opportunity at a time in the sock shop, and they'll be spaced far enough apart that you'll have plenty of time to catch up.

b) Do you understand "experience curves" in RPGs? Well, I'm trying to do the same thing with Sock points: I'm slowly ramping up how many points are awarded in each question so that it isn't as hard for new players to catch up. Expect a major jump in "experience" points after all 5 of the first guest-hosts have had their turn.

c) Very soon, there are going to be brand NEW ways to earn SOCK points. There are two questions every day: A "Follow Me" question, and a different one. I'm going to start taking ideas for the other one from the readers themselves!! Anyone who submits a question that I decide to use will be awarded twice the point value of the question. I guess that once the mail is back up and running, we can start that element goin', hmm? Sounds like fun? I hope so... I want to keep things spicy, so that you'll have to run and drink some water every time you decide to read! Er...

You know what I wish? I really wish that it were easier to discover how well games have sold (like, in number of units, etc). I'm itching to know exactly how well Dragon Quest VIII, for example, has done since its release. I'm so pleased that it's so visible... I've seen several commercials for the game (all while at the gym... strange), and it has an entire display to itself at the EB Games in the Stone Road Mall. Is the public lapping it up as much as I hope they are, though? Is the advertising paying off? I'm not sure. I just want to know!

I really can't wait, because my final exam is just one week away from today. No, I'm not excited so much for the final itself, but I AM excited for the world that will open up soon afterward. I'll have about a month of free time to kick back, play some games, have some family time, and just relax! I promise I won't fall off the face of the earth, so never you guys worry.

What are your plans for the holiday season? Is anyone going anywhere or doing anything fun? Just being able to curl up and play games for an entire day in front of my living room fireplace sounds like the best possible thing to do, WITH my mom's homemade nuts and bolts, might I add!

What games are you playing? What games are you looking forward to playing? What games are on your Christmas list?

So, writing this kind of feels to me like playing cards inside on a rainy day. I really hope the rain clears up soon!! It's much more exciting to answer letters when you have letters to answer, really. This isn't your fault, at any rate! Until further notice, though, Q&A is somewhat paralyzed. Man, now I wish I'd spent some time on a Q&A status-ailment graphic... you know, the kind with electric bolts going up-down-up-down indicating a lack of ability to move?

***Matt is feeling worrywartish